How Long Can It Last?

… meaning Eli’s current turnout blanket. We’ve gotten four years out of it. It has been cleaned and repaired at least that many times, with a few things that are beyond repair.

reflective piping shreddedhow does one repair synthetic fleece?

This thing is close to shredded. Yet, it is not shredded.

what is this even fixing?this one keeps going — almost the entire length of the blanketso many repairs the hind end fits weird

All the straps and buckles are still in good working order, and I suspect it could be handed down to a lesson horse or something like that, once I get Eli a new blanket. I also would like to get him a proper turnout sheet.

I discovered that blanket shopping in the middle of winter is a bit of a disappointment, because everything is “out of stock” or “temporarily oversold.” I have my eye on a few things I’d like to order to try on Eli, but finding his size in an acceptable color seems to be tricky just now.

barf

I have no doubt the blanket will make it to the end of the winter. I like to blanket shop in July or August, because that’s around when the best blanket sales seem to happen. But this seems like it can’t wait.

doesn’t do well in cold weather

Both of his stable sheets are in great condition. I am about to swap them out so he can have a clean sheet for the rest of the cold weather days. That will hopefully end in March.

So some requirements: turnout style, 1200 denier, around 180g-300g fill, shoulder gussets, rear leg straps, DURABLE lining, size 78 usually, nothing neon or camo or animal print or really let’s just go with navy or black or grey or maybe a muted plaid of those colors.

This current turnout has served okay. My major complaint about it is that the lining seemed to rip really easily. I am shopping other brands, especially looking at Pessoa blankets and turnouts and sheets. Also looking at Bucas blankets and sheets because I have had good luck with them in the past, but they don’t always have the shoulder gussets. I don’t want to spend over $300, either. Eli needs his teeth done in February, too!

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24 thoughts on “How Long Can It Last?”

Honestly? I have been really happy with my Smartpak Ultimate Turnout blankets. They’re even on sale right now AND they come with a 10 year guarantee… It might not be the fastest turnaround ever with all the issues SP has been having… but it’s hard to beat the price.

The wug style blankets are my favorite for Dexter, but the Horseware blankets generally don’t have shoulder gussets.

He also has a Smartpak Deluxe turnout for his heavy weight blanket since it doesn’t get worn as often and it was been good so far. My pony also has a Smartpack Ultimate blanket. Hers has been good so far as well. My only complaint is that I don’t really care for the leg straps on the Smartpak blankets (crummy elastic), but pretty minor.

My pony also has a shires turnout sheet that is nice. Dexter had a Pessoa turnout sheet before I upgraded to the Rambo, and no major complaints on it. I just prefer the nylon lining instead of the mesh. The mesh has openings to clean it out, but I probably wouldn’t buy a mesh lined sheet again.

Amber and Whisper both wear blankets from Schneiders, and we love them. They have all the things you wanted (plus they’re on sale right now) and they’ve held up extremely well under Amber’s general tendency to abuse her blankets. I have to say my FAV feature is their V-Free, and it actually does keep the blankets from pulling on the withers. Amber has never ever had a rub from these. The blanket I’d bought for her when she was a 72 (when she was 2 lol) lasted 3 years until I finally bought her a new one in her size around 2015-ish. And the 72 still looks really good. I mean, it’s certainly used but it doesn’t have any rips or tears in it. Whisper only had to get a new one after 4-5 years with the same blanket because the fill finally condensed and it just wasn’t warm anymore. But I have absolutely loved their blankets. This is their newest version of the blanket we have if you’re interested. They have black, navy and BURGUNDY, so like…. I think you need the burgundy ;P lolololhttps://www.sstack.com/Horse-Blankets-And-Sheets_Waterproof-Turnout-Blankets_ArmorFlex-Challenger/ARMORFlex-Challenger-V-Free-Fit-Surcingle-Turnouts/?sliredirect=1

THANK YOU for reminding me about Schneiders! A friend and I have lengthy conversations about blankets and we always end up saying we should just get the Schneiders ones because they are so durable and not an arm and a leg. I do like burgundy …

I have the Amigo Horseware turnouts and sheets and love them. One is a lite turn out sheet (no fill) and one is a 100 gram. (I have an extra in the 100 gram too that is how much I love them). I layer them up with the 100 gram and a 100 gram liner (like today Remus has the liner on with the regular Amigo sheet over it due to him laying in wet stuff with his 100 gram last nite)! They are not that expensive either in my mind. I also love the Weatherbettas usually BUT Remu’s last one did not fit him correctly so I returned it and got the extra Amigo.

Remus wears a 78 too same as Eli. How odd since Eli is huge 😉 HA

Okay I just fell down a wormhole looking at the blankets and sheets I have bought in my email..

here is the 100 gram one I LOVE this the most (and have an extra if you are interested I may sell it!)

The other one is also an Amigo but no fill. Again these things are STRONG as iron if Remus hasnt ruined it yet. This is also purple but a different shade. I can’t seem to find that one for a link. they come in other colors though don’t be scared off HA!

Another one that I have that lasts like iron is a Tough 1. Nothing fancy but dang Remus has had one for as long as I have had him and it is still going (It has been repaired but still)!

I use the Mio’s as throwaways but he has had one of those for 3 years almost! I do not recommend them if you have a horse that is hard on sheets those will rip easily but repair well.

also i vote for Schneiders too I had a great blanket I loved from there BUT caveat watch it some of their blankets have VELCRO ATTACHED tail flaps. Um It lasted one day at the barn when I first got Remus, bye by tail flap! SMH.

Also I get that you need shoulder gussets and more than 100 grams but I do vote for Amigos for less special ponies 🙂

Most of the new ones don’t have the velcro tails… Batty has several Schneiders (so does Jiminy but you won’t be looking at mini blankets) and none of his have velcro tail attachments. I only heard about that from you.

New blogger here. But I generally have smartpak, Dover, or horseware blankets. This year I tried out Premier Equine. I am so happy with the blanket and plan to slowly switch all of mine the to that brand. They do fit bigger… I ordered the same size but the blankets themselves are cut to cover more vertically (go further down the leg than other brands). They have all kinds on clearance and I received my order in 2 days… faster than my US purchased have made it to my doorstep.

I love the Dover Northwinds for my thoroughbred who also wears a 78. I’m not sure if that’s what you have on Eli… The thing about the Northwind is that they have a lifetime guarantee (I’ve used it when the stitching came out somewhere even though it didn’t impact the use of the blanket) so if the lining tears, Dover will replace them. They should be clean but Dover took mine back when I just hosed it off… I really love the fit for my thoroughbred. I have a medium and heavy detach-a-neck. I see that they only have a sheet and heavy available at Dover… Still, something to look into for the future.

I had the Beval ones for YEARS before they lost waterproof-ness, and held up great. But they stopped making them. Boo. Jamp’s been using one from Weaver Leather the last year but it seems so-so on sturdiness. It hasn’t actually ripped, but the piping is kind of destroyed. Granted he’s the itchiest horse on the planet, so might not be a fair assessment there. They are in expensive and come in my farm colors though, so that was a major plus for me (I know it’s not important in real life… but it is to me!). I just got turnouts from Horze that I actually really like. They have more fill than the Weaver one (which you probably wouldn’t need in TX though) so we’re using them for the really cold days. It’s this one: https://www.horze.com/medium-and-heavyweight-turnout-rugs/horze-avalanche-heavyweight-winter-blanket—300g/24565.html?color=FNGR%2FDGG
Can’t speak yet to durability, but it SEEMS to be pretty well made.